Play the Game of Love
by Solanine
Summary: Ichigo is a young man with an extraordinary job. His life is about to chance dramatically in a form of a certain bluish beast.


**Hello everyone! I'm back with a new story^^ Took me long enough... So just to make this clear this is NOT going to be one of those stories about an animal which mysteriously turns into a man they have sex and next day he is back to his old form. This has nothing to do with bestiality! Just to make things clear^^ **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. They belong to Tite Kubo^^  
**

* * *

"Finally ready!"

A man with flaming orange hair leaned back admiring the result efforts. The setting sun highlighted the light green color of the house making the man hum approvingly at his choice of paint. The house looked new now when the awful brown had been painted over. The orange haired man dropped the brush in a can of water and looked at his army styled overalls which were now covered with light and dark green spots. Not that it made much different with the original colors, though.

Just when he had stepped down from the ladder he heard a familiar voice calling him.

"Ichigo! You home?"

The orange head started to gather his things and shouted an answer to the other.

"Here in the back!"

Soon a man with long red hair walked around the corner beaming with good mood. He was quite a sight in his white wife-beater and black jeans, his leather jacket heaved over his shoulder. Not to mention the tribal tattoos covering his body. With his sunglasses on he looked like some protagonist from a gangster movie.

"What's with the big grin, Renji?" Ichigo asked putting a lid on the paint can. It was soon going to start to get dark and since he still had lots to do he was in such a hurry to get things done that he didn't notice the said man's grin widen.

"Just thinking about our plan to go out drinking tonight with our 'gang'", the red head answered dropping his tote bag on the ground and folding his arms.

"Huh? What plans? Why haven't I heard of this?", Ichigo asked packing his things not even bothering to look up. It was just his luck for Renji to invite him right when he was busy.

"Of course not, since we just decided that a few hours ago. I came here to pick you up so get your ass inside the house and change into something more fitting", Renji said lifting his sunglasses on his forehead.

"No way I'm coming anywhere tonight. I haven't even vacuumed yet and- Don't lean on that!" Ichigo yelled suddenly as he lifted his gaze. But too late. Renji was already leaning on the just painted wall not having a clue why he was being yelled at.

"You idiot! I just painted that!" the orange head shouted looking at Renji's not so white shirt with horrified eyes. Renji's eyes widened and he quickly jumped away of the wall but nothing could save his shirt anymore. It had a big green spot on it's side which was clearly visible and since the shirt was white it wouldn't come off even if he washed it.

"Fuck!" he yelled staring at his shirt with eyes full of disbelief. "Why didn't you warn me?" he asked still shouting. Ichigo just looked at him blankly. Now he would need to paint the whole wall all over again if he wanted the color to look perfect..

"I didn't think you would be so stupid to actually lean on the wall after seeing me paint it", Ichigo answered annoyed, his remark making Renji look away embarrassed.

"You could still have said something. How could I have known that the other end of the wall was still wet", he noted trying to turn his head so that he could inspect if his shirt had paint on the back too. "And now my new shirt is ruined".

Ichigo let out a tired sigh as he motioned Renji to follow him. "Come on. I'll lend you one of my shirts. You can either throw that away or try to wash most of the paint off. Or you can always dye it". The orange head took his painting tools inside and set them on his hallway table. He led Renji upstairs to his bedroom and gave him permission to roam freely in his closet while he headed to shower at the other end of the floor.

When he had gotten most of the paint scrubbed away he looked at his reflection in the mirror nodding contently. There were only few drops left which would wear off during the day. He took his white fluffy towel from the rack and while he was drying himself he heard Renji's voice coming from the direction of his bedroom.

"Oi Ichi! Can I borrow the light beige one? No wait! I found white wife-beater! I'll borrow this!"

"Yeah sure! Whatever", the orange head shouted back wrapping the towel around his waist and stepped out of the bath room heading towards the bedroom. The sight in his room made his eyes go wide. Renji was currently in process of posing in front of a mirror and around him were piles of clothes which he had apparently thrown there while searching for some shirt he would like. He had emptied the whole closet.

"Renji you ass!" Ichigo shouted at the other making Renji jump.

"Gaah! Dude, don't scare me like that! What are you yelling at?" the red head asked looking at Ichigo confused.

Being on the verge of exploding the orange head just pointed at the mess around the room. Renji looked around him and slowly the gears in his mind set into motion.

"Oops. Sorry about the mess. I just couldn't find what I was looking for and figured it would be faster to just scatter them around", he said scratching his cheek seeming to be at least a bit sorry about his doings. Unfortunately that wasn't enough for Ichigo.

"Clean this mess right now! Just when I have almost everything in order you come to fool around", he said angrily trying to control his temper. Since he had been working the whole day he was feeling dead tired and Renji's clumsiness didn't make the situation any better not to mention that the red head's paint covered shirt was now lying on the floor staining Ichigo's red carpet.

Renji lifted his hands up trying to calm the furious man. "Okay, I'll clean it right away. No need to get so worked up over such a little thing", he remarked bending over to pick up the clothes.

Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose and started to calm down. "Thanks. I'm just a bit tired today. So what's this talk about going out today? I already said to you I'm not coming".

"Don't be a killjoy. The cats are coming the day after tomorrow, right? Then you won't be able to hang around with us anymore so we figured that this could be some sort of good luck- party for you. Everyone is coming so you can't ditch us like that", Renji explained sounding defensive.

Ichigo looked at him pondering a while. It was true that after two days he couldn't go drinking so easily. It might be good to ease up a bit before his job would start. Sighing he gave in.

"Fine I'll come. But no overdoing it, all right?" he answered picking up the clothes he would put on. Looking up at Renji Ichigo saw how his face practically lit up after him giving up.

"Awesome! I'll tell the others", he said looking exited and pounced off the room fishing his phone from his pocket.

"Renji! Clean your mess!" Ichigo shouted after him but it was useless. The red head had already dialed the first number and was in the middle of intensive conversation. Letting out a tired sigh Ichigo closed the door behind him and got dressed. He would go with casual style having chosen his dark v-neck wife-beater and black jeans which hung loosely on his hips. He attached his metal key chain on the side of his pants and completed the look with a stud belt.

With quick look in the mirror he left the room to search for Renji. He would clean up later. He found Renji sitting on his leather couch in the living room downstairs. He was still on the phone and seemed to be talking to Rangiku.

"Aw don't be like that! Of course you have to come! Just leave your useless boyfriend at home then... What do you mean you can't?... Oh he's in that bad shape... Then bring him with you like I care! Give him some of your miraculous hangover medicine... What?.. No I'm at Ichi's... Yup he's coming... Great! See you in a bit", Renji said and closed the phone. Ichigo raised his eyebrow as he eyed the other waiting for him to fill him in with the situation.

"There you are. I just finished calling people and everyone said they're coming", he reported grinning widely. "Rangiku ain't sure if she's coming, though. Her boyfriend seems to have a terrible hangover since they had been drinking last night and you know how much that woman drinks. Of course he didn't want to seem like a loser and drank at least as much as she did".

Ichigo grimaced thinking about how good of a tolerance Rangiku had and remembered his first and last time when he tried to win a drinking contest against her. That night didn't end well. He had never been so sick in his life and it was a miracle that he survived the next day without jumping down from a roof.

"So what did you guys had in mind?" Ichigo asked deciding not to continue his argument about him not coming since everyone was already waiting. Renji stood up from the couch with a small smile on his lips.

"We're going to Bar Xcution of course", he stated heading towards the door. "Let's get going then".

"Ah! Wait Renji I'm not ready yet. I need to find my wallet", Ichigo said turning towards the stairs which led upstairs.

"No need! I have it right here!" the red head shouted from the hallway. Ichigo whipped his head around just in time to see Renji waving his black leather walled in his hand. Huffing in annoyance the orange head stomped after him making a mental note not to leave his belongings lying somewhere where they could be easily stolen. Not that there were any thieves in their town anyway but you never know.

"Did you come here by car?" Ichigo asked when he had caught Renji. The other just swirled his car keys around his finger and led him to his red sports car. Ichigo turned to look at his house one last time before getting in the vehicle. The sun had already begin to set behind the tall mountains creating long shadows and without any plants except a few trees it made the yard look really empty. That was about to change soon, though.

"That green color looks kinda good", Renji commented looking at the house. The two stories high wooden house stood proudly in the middle of everything with nothing else around than a big forest. Perfect for Ichigo's line of work.

Renji pulled out from the front yard and sped up down the hill. It was only a ten minute drive from Ichigo's place to the town and with Renji's driving speed it took them barely five minutes before they were already there.

Stepping out of the car Ichigo inhaled the cold night air and looked at the lights of the town. It was always so bright in there. He was living so far off from the central city that the only light came from the street lamps and his outdoor lights. Full moon was an exception of course since it made the whole yard seem like it was glowing with blue light. Ichigo was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice a short raven haired girl creeping up behind him until it was too late. He felt a strong kick on his back and almost fell face first to the ground. Without his quick reflexes he would now had a swollen nose instead of just sore back.

"Rukia what the hell!" he yelled turning to look annoyed at the petite girl behind him.

"What are you spacing out there for?" she asked with a smug grin. Ichigo rubbed at his back trying to make the aching feel disappear while Renji was laughing his ass off.

"And what makes you think you can just kick me because of that?" the orange head questioned scowling but couldn't help start smiling at the sight of the other. They hadn't seen each other in a while so he was happy to be able to spend time with her today. Rukia was allergic to cats and almost every other animal there was so it would be impossible for her to come to visit him once he had the kittens with him.

"The opportunity was just too good to be wasted so I had to do it", she answered smiling back at him. It had become sort of a habit for her to kick him every time she found an opening so the answer didn't surprise him that much.

"Shall we go then?" Renji asked when he had finally calmed down enough to speak. Rukia and Ichigo nodded and followed the red head into the bar. The bouncer just nodded to them and opened the door. He was a huge man with long spiky hair and had a big scar over one of his eyes which was also covered with an eye patch.

"What's up Kenpachi?" Ichigo asked stepping inside.

"Same old. It has been too silent without your group in here", the man noted grinning with delight at the sight of the orange head. "Have you considered coming to work here again?" he asked while shooing off group of kids who couldn't be more than sixteen. None of them dared to even make a sound of protest seeing how big and scary Kenpachi was so they just hurried off while his attention was elsewhere fearing what he might do if he took much notion to them.

Ichigo just shook his head. "Nah. I'm continuing my old work again the day after tomorrow."

This made the bigger man to raise his eyebrow. "Your sick leave is over already? I thought the wounds weren't healed yet", he said sounding surprised and eyed the other suspiciously.

"Seems like they didn't have enough trainers so they had to ask me", the orange head answered shrugging. "And truth to be told I prefer my old job more than being a bartender. No offense", he added seeing the gleam in the man's eye.

"Ichigo!"

He turned around to greet the strawberry blond woman with long wavy hair and a well-built bosom. She was dressed in a dress which showed a bit too much of her long curvy body for his liking but since it was her custom to tease him with every chance she got Ichigo just smiled at her warmly trying to focus his attention on her eyes.

"Hi Rangiku", Ichigo said stepping aside to let the woman inside. Behind her came a man who couldn't be anyone else than her boyfriend. This was the first time he had seen him so while the man was occupied searching something from his pockets Ichigo used the chance to eye him from head to toe. He was a bit taller than Rangiku and had black spiky hair much similar to Ichigo's which also stuck out into almost every direction. He wore pair of black army-like pants and a black t-shirt. But what caught Ichigo's eyes the most was the number 69 tattooed on his left cheek.

"What are you doing, Shuuhei? I'm going in already", Rangiku said impatiently while tapping her heel on the ground.

"Yeah yeah hold on a moment. I can't find my wallet. Ah- here it is!" the man, called Shuuhei said pulling out his wallet triumphantly from his back pocket. The blond only rolled her eyes as she grabbed Ichigo's hand and pulled him inside leaving the other to go and buy drinks.

"Was that your new boyfriend Rangiku?" the orange head asked allowing the woman to pull him towards their regular table near the window.

"Yeah. Isn't he cute?" she answered with a sweet smile on her lips. Before Ichigo could answer he heard a boom of laughter coming from the table where Renji and others were already waiting.

"Hey look it's Ichigo! What took you so long?"

Ichigo looked at a bald man who had been calling him and smiled. He had already gotten used to his friend's new look. The man had used to have almost afro-like hair but since it was always such a hassle to take care of it he had decided to shave it all off and had been bald ever since. Of course for a guy at his age it was quite unusual so he had to bear with Rangiku's comments of light bulbs and such. Surprisingly enough his dressing style wasn't as odd as you would think him wearing only black.

"Hi Ikkaku. Sorry, I had to finish up painting my house", the orange head answered taking a seat between Ikkaku and a big dark skinned man. Ichigo left Ikkaku to whine about him being late and turned to address the man next to him.

"What have you been up to Chad? I haven't seen you around for a while", he asked for him. Chad scratched his head causing his curly hair to get even messier. His dark red t-shirt's sleeves were rolled up revealing his tattoo of a green snake with white wings curled around a heart.

"Nothing much. I haven't been in town lately. Working matters", he answered with a deep voice. He was a man of few words, not wasting any time for unnecessary chit chat which made Ichigo like him even more. Nodding to the other the orange head turned to look at Rangiku who was currently engaged in heated conversation with Rukia and Yumichika.

"I see Yumi still hasn't gotten over of his obsession with feathers", Ichigo noted to Renji who had taken a seat near them. The red head looked in the direction where the three were talking with hushed voices and grinned. Yumichika had always had a strange taste of clothes and other stuff. Even now he was wearing a purple shirt with long sleeves which covered his hands and his collar or more like the lack of it attracted a lot of attraction since it was so wide it exposed his shoulders. At least his pants were normal black ones. But the feathers were the ones Ichigo and Renji were always teasing him about. He had two long feathers placed on his face. Red and green. Other was in his hair and the other on the side of his head near his eye.

Apparently the said man sensed they were talking about him and looked at them with a questioning look in his eyes.

"What?" he asked annoyed. "Is there something on my face?" he continued placing his other hand on his cheek making a worried face.

"I wonder", Renji answered and looked at the direction of the bar. "I think I'll go and get something to drink".

"I'll come too", Ichigo said standing up and following the red head leaving Yumichika to stare after them. If they would have mentioned the feathers he wouldn't stop lecturing them about his image of beauty. Ichigo really didn't want to hear that speech again. Once was enough. Renji was already making an order when Ichigo arrived.

"Make it two, Ginjo", the orange head said to the black haired bartender taking a seat on a bar stool.

"Kurosaki! I haven't seen you a while", the man replied starting to pour another drink in a glass.

"I've been busy. How are things here? Have you already found someone to hire?" he asked leaning on the counter.

Ginjo shook his head. "Unfortunately not. Would you perhaps be interested? You did a good job last time you were here and the customers liked you", he asked hopefully remembering the time when Ichigo used to work for him.

"Sorry no can do. I'm getting back to my ordinary job after two days so I won't be able to even come down here as much as before", he answered paying his drink and taking a long gulp. Ginjo's mojitos were always the best and the beer wasn't bad either. From the corner of his eye Ichigo could see a flash of spiky black hair. Looking at the side he noticed Rangiku's boyfriend. He had his drinks in front of him and was at the moment downing one of them. Seemed like he had had a rough day. Ichigo elbowed Renji at his side and nodded towards the raven haired man. The red head looked at the direction he was pointing at and raised his brow.

"What's he doing? Why won't he come and join us?" he asked taking a sip of his drink.

"I don't know. I'll go and ask", Ichigo said shrugging and headed towards the man.

As he drew closer Shuuhei noticed him and turned to face him.

"Yo! You must be Ichigo am I right?" he asked offering his hand. The orange head took it and introduced himself.

"That's right. Kurosaki Ichigo. Pleased to meet you".

"Hisagi Shuuhei. Rangiku has talked about you a lot so I was eager to meet you", the man said with a small smile.

"Then why not join us? I'm sure everyone is eager to meet you. This is your first time meeting them right?" Ichigo asked wondering what the man was doing here all alone when his girlfriend was already at the table.

"Yeah, well truth to be told I'm a bit nervous. But I'll come. Hold on I just grab our drinks", he said taking two pints of beer both in his hands and following Ichigo to the table.

"Ah you must be Shuuhei?" Rukia said standing up to greet the man. Shuuhei nodded to them and sat down next to Rangiku.

"Jeez what were you doing? It shouldn't take that long only to get few drinks", Rangiku complained taking one of the glasses and gulping almost half of it in one go.

"Oi oi! Slow down! You have already been drinking today so it won't do you good to drink up that fast", Shuuhei said worriedly taking the pint away from her making Rangiku pout. Not bearing the sight of her puppy eyes he gave the drink back without saying a word with a slight blush on his cheeks. This made the others laugh and if the mood had been a bit uneasy the tension melted away after that and soon everyone were chattering happily with each other.

"When are the kittens are coming Ichi?" Yumichika asked leaning his elbow on the table trying hard to focus his eyes at Ichigo. He didn't have a good tolerance with alcohol so he was already more drunk than he should which made him more talkative than usual.

"The day after tomorrow. I've been cleaning and painting the house since last week so it should be in fine shape when they come", Ichigo answered starting to drink his third beer. He was feeling a bit lightheaded but in a good way and he couldn't help but smile at the thought of his coming task.

"So what's this talk about kittens? I heard Rangiku to mention something about it earlier but when she said you need to buy tons of cat food she kind of lost me. Just how many cats are you getting?" Shuuhei asked joining the conversation. Ichigo turned to look at the man and noticed his bright red cheeks. He had five empty pints in front of him and was currently starting his sixth one. The orange head's eyes widened at the sight but since it was Rangiku's boyfriend in question his tolerance didn't surprise him so much.

"Oh yeah if Rangiku hasn't explained it to you then naturally you would think they are just ordinary cats", Ichigo said and just bluntly answered.

"Well the thing is that they are tigers not house cats."

Ichigo looked at Shuuhei amused when he was trying hard not to choke on his drink. Rangiku had to beat his back in order to make him stop couching. It was always funny to look at people's reactions when he told them about his job. Finally the man managed to get his breath back but was still stunned about the answer.

"Say what?" he asked eyes wide. Since no one had been laughing he knew that Ichigo wasn't just joking around.

"Let me explain", the orange head said leaning back a bit. "My job is to train young tigers who have either been found in the wild without their mother or been born in a zoo. It's my duty to feed them and keep them in a good shape and if they are from a zoo I need to make sure they get used to be around people. If however they are from the wild I only need to take care of them till they are big enough to be returned since they can't survive on their own without their mother. And I'm obviously not going to feed cat food for them but meat so Rangiku was joking at least about one thing", Ichigo continued looking at Rangiku who just flashed one of her innocent smiles.

Shuuhei had stayed silent listening intently of his explanation, his expression changing from disbelief into amazement.

"They actually do this kind of stuff in here?" he asked wondering. It wasn't common to have tigers as pets and word of this kind of thing never spread far so Ichigo was used of having to tell people over and over again what his job consisted.

"You took that better than I thought", Renji said looking a bit disappointed. He probably had expected Shuuhei to start to argue about that kind of job not existing. That's what Renji had done at least since he didn't easily buy everything people were telling him. It had taken Ichigo quite a while to convince him that his occupation really was a tiger trainer.

"Well I'm pretty drunk so I guess it hasn't sank in just yet", Shuuhei answered and true enough his eyes looked glazed and it wouldn't be a wonder if tomorrow he didn't remember anything that had happened. "So basically you just make sure they stay alive long enough to be given away?" he verified just to make sure he had gotten that part right.

"Harshly said yes", Ichigo answered scowling at his comment. He had cared deeply every one of the tigers he had had till now and didn't like the way the other was talking about them. The majestic cats had a special place in his heart and he had fallen in love with the race immediately when he had started working at a zoo. When he had heard about people actually getting a chance to raise those creatures he had found his calling. It had been hard to get the proper education and he had been living abroad while working under a man who had been taking care of tigers since he was a teen. You could call it a family business of his.

"But isn't that pretty dangerous? They are savage beasts after all", Shuuhei noted downing the rest of his drink not noticing a dark glance which had been sent to him in the direction of the orange head. Ichigo hated that kind of attitude in people. It was the same with wolves. People were always the first ones to go and shoot them if they even got near them not even considering that they might have been just passing by. Renji knew how hot blooded his friend would get over people who didn't cared about animals so he quickly cut in.

"Hey Ichi would ya like to go and grab me another drink?"

Ichigo looked at his friend and then at the bar.

"You're just too lazy to go and get it yourself", he noted but stood up anyway. As he was going towards the counter he heard Yumichika mentioning about Ichigo's last tiger.

"You know last time his tiger attacked him", he said leaning forward like he was about to tell a big secret. Too bad everyone knew that already. He had told them right after he got out from the hospital.

"What?! And he's still continuing his job? I would have quit after that", Shuuhei said disbelieved.

Ichigo clicked his tongue in annoyance. He had forgotten that guy. Now he would need to bear with questions like 'are you freaking crazy' or something like that. It had been tiring enough to hear it from everyone before. Besides Yumi liked to overreact to everything so he would more likely end up explaining everything to be more dramatic than it really had been. The tiger he had at that time didn't like to be in narrow spaces and every time he felt like he was trapped he attacked the nearest person. Later on it was discovered that he had some mental problems which eventually leaded him to be put down. The memory made the orange head sad so he sighed in relief when he was far enough not to hear Yumichika's babbling.

"Rough day?"

Ichigo turned to look at Ginjo who was currently in process of wiping one of the glasses clean looking through it once a while making sure to get all fingerprints off.

"Yeah. Yumichika's at it again so Renji gave me a chance to escape", the orange head said tiredly and leaned his elbows on the counter while waiting Ginjo to fill his pint. The black haired man chuckled lightly.

"He can be pretty noisy when he's drunk", he remarked placing the glass on the counter stretching his hand to take the payment. .

"Yeah. We need to stop him drinking so much or sooner or later someone will punch him", Ichigo sighed and took a sip of his beer savoring it's taste in his mouth while he was waiting for Ginjo to pour a drink for Renji too.

"That's easier said than done considering how drunk Ikkaku is. I don't understand how he can tolerate that whiny brat", the bartender said annoyed. Ichigo laughed at the other one's remark. Yumi and Ikkaku were regular customers so Ginjo had to bear with them more than he would like. Especially since he hated people who started to blabber nonsense while drunk since he would need to listen to them without ending up beating them up.

"Well I guess it's like they say. Love is blind", Ichigo answered grinning at Ginjo's pained expression.

"Tsk. Seems like more deaf to me", he answered turning to serve another customer.

Chuckling to himself Ichigo headed back to the table. Now that he had calmed down he was eager to get the evening rolling again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the next morning Ichigo found himself sleeping under a kitchen table at Ikkaku and Yumichika's place. Not yet daring to get up he carefully moved his head to take in his surroundings. This wasn't his first time to wake up under someone's table so that wasn't so much of a surprise but he didn't exactly expected to see Renji curled up next to him cradling an empty bottle in his hands. Looking around he found Rukia sleeping on the couch in a curious position with her legs on the back rest and the rest of her body only partly on the couch. It didn't seem to bother her since she was snoring loudly. Ikkaku and Yumichika were cuddling on an armchair and it seemed like it had taken them some effort to even get both of them to fit on it making the scene look rather comical with Yumichika sleeping on Ikkaku's back.

Ichigo tried to see if Rangiku was somewhere to be found but couldn't see her anywhere. She probably had taken the bedroom considering the fact that Ikkaku and Yumichika were in the living room. The orange head decided to take a risk and slowly lifted his head. He waited a while and when he didn't feel any signs of an incoming headache and his stomach was staying in its place he rose to lean on his elbows. Still nothing. Continuing his testing he got up into a sitting position but had to stop in midway to wait till the room wasn't spinning anymore.

When he was sure he would be able to continue he started to crawl away from under the table so that he could stand up. After successfully getting into an open space he leaned on to the couch where Rukia was sleeping in order to prevent himself from falling down. With shaky legs he pulled himself up only to notice that it wasn't such a good idea after all when the room started to spin so much he felt sick. Closing his eyes he pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled deeply. After a few breaths he felt fine again and opened his eyes. Now than the hard part was over he took a closer look at the state of the apartment.

Empty cans and bottles were lying everywhere and on the table was a half-eaten cake which now looked less tempting with flies flying around it. Next to the cake were empty shot glasses which meant that at some point of the night they had been playing drinking games. Also the fact that he was shirtless and Renji only in his boxers indicated that. It had been a while since they had last played strip poker. Rukia looked like she had been the winner 'cause she was missing only her socks. Yumichika and Ikkaku were in no better state than Renji which meant that Ichigo had probably been the second. No that's wrong. There had been also Rangiku who always won these games so Rukia and he had come after her.

He heard a grunt nearby and bent to look under the table. Renji had woken up and looked at him with reddish eyes.

"Wow Ren. You look like you have a serious hangover", Ichigo noted amused looking as Renji tried hard to keep his meal inside him. Sending an evil glare towards the grinning orange head he tried to roll on to his back which only made him pale as a sheet. Deciding that it wasn't probably good idea to move right now he settled to lay on his side and continued to glare at Ichigo.

"You! Shut up!" the red head snapped at him and noticed what he was holding in his hands. "What the heck?" he wondered throwing the bottle away. "How come you can stand there with no care in the world? Do you even have a hangover?" the red head asked looking jealous. Renji wouldn't be moving for the next few hours.

"I dunno", Ichigo answered shrugging. "I have just a slight headache but nothing more. I guess I just have better tolerance for alcohol than you", he continued grinning. He enjoyed being able to see Renji in such a helpless state. Usually it was the other way around.

"Fuck you", the other said turning his head away making Ichigo chuckle at him.

"I'll go and get you some water", the orange head said starting to head towards the kitchen. He walked carefully at first just in case since he didn't want his headache to get any worse. Right now it was tolerable and he was able to move around more freely now that the room stayed put. He maneuvered his way to the sink and after founding a clean glass he filled it with water and took it to Renji who gratefully downed it.

"Thanks man", he said getting a bit of color on his face.

"Feeling better?" Ichigo asked hunching next to Renji and taking the glass away from him. The red head nodded a bit and let his head fall back against the floor.

"I think I'll sleep a bit", he said closing his eyes. Ichigo smiled softly at him and headed to the bath room.

After splashing some water on his face he went to see if someone else was awake. When he was about to go to the living room the door which led into the bedroom opened revealing a very tired looking Rangiku. Her hair was messy and she wore a men's shirt which was probably borrowed from Ikkaku's closet.

"Oh? Ichi you're up already?" she asked yawning widely.

"Yeah just got up. You look better than I thought", Ichigo said looking at Rangiku who only looked like she hadn't slept too well. She grinned at him victoriously.

"See, I told you I wouldn't have a hangover today even though I drank more than you", she announced looking quite proud of herself.

"I can see that", the orange head said placing a hand on his hips. "By the way where's Shuuhei? Did he leave or is he still in here somewhere?"

Rangiku tilted her head looking Ichigo in a curious way. "Don't you remember? He said he would go home since he started to feel sick. You even went to see him at the door".

"I did?" he asked furrowing his brows not remembering a thing.

"Yup. You offered him a ride but then remembered that you came with Renji in his car", she answered amused. "You don't remember?"

Ichigo shook his head still trying to think what had happened last night. He remembered when they had come at the apartment and that they had even gone to get more beer but then everything was blank.

"I guess I drank too much..." he said scratching the back of his head and looked away embarrassed when Rangiku started laughing.

"Aw. That happens. Come on, let's go to wake them up", she chirped and actually almost bounced to the living room yelling 'good morning' and earning an annoyed grunts from everyone. Sighing Ichigo followed her.

The sight was worth seeing. Everyone looked murderously at the blond, Rukia and Renji only turning to the other side covering their ears murmuring something about noisy idiots. Ikkaku and Yumichika tried desperately untangle themselves ending up falling on the ground with a loud thump and cursing. Rangiku stood in the middle of everything a cocky grin on her lips. She clearly enjoyed the situation waking everyone up when they were trying to sleep off their hangover.

Ichigo looked at the clock on the wall and let out a shocked noise. Rangiku turned to look at him raising her eyebrow.

"Shit! It's already that late? I need to get going if I'm going to get everything ready for tomorrow", he said starting to search for his clothes.

"Oh yeah, Ichi. Yer phone was ringing just a moment ago", Renji noted turning his head so that he could see Ichigo.

"It did? Do you remember where? I can't find it", the orange head answered trying to search it from his pants pockets with low results.

"That way I guess", the red head said pointing at the couch. Rukia looked at him and let out an annoyed growl when Ichigo walked over and started to search around the couch.

"Can you move a bit, Rukia?" he asked trying to see if his phone was under her.

"I would have noticed if your phone was ringing under me, you idiot! Try searching under the couch", she said angrily when Ichigo tried to roll her off. Bending over near the floor he peeked under it and saw something which resembled his phone. Reaching his hand he grabbed the thing and inspected it closer.

"Yup, it's mine", he said flipping the lid open and looking at his missed calls. His eyes widened as he recognized the number.

"Shit! It's from the guy who's supposed to deliver the tigers", he said cursing and pressed the dial button shifting nervously while waiting the guy to pick up.

"Hullo?" answered a voice at the other end of the line. There was so much noise in the background that it was difficult to hear anything.

"Hello! This is Kurosaki Ichigo. You called?" he said walking towards the hallway so that he would be able to speak more loudly.

"Oh? Yeah, just checking if ya happened to be at home. I'm bringing the kittens to ya a tad earlier than expected", the man said. Ichigo felt how his jaw dropped open and he gaped a few times before answering.

"Say WHAT?" he asked horrified. "Where are you now?" he panicked starting to search for his shoes.

"'bout half an hour away from there", he answered casually.

"Why no one told me about this?" the now angry orange head asked. He hadn't even had time to tidy his place up.

"Change of plans. Sorry kiddo" the man said sounding more happy than sorry which irritated Ichigo even more.

"You can't just change the plans without telling me first! I'm not even home right now!" he yelled at the man making Rangiku come look at what all the commotion was about.

"They e-mailed ya 'bout the thing yesterday and since ya didn't answer they just thought ya had read the message and told me to bring 'em to ya. If yer not home then ya better get there and fast".

Grimacing Ichigo tried to tie his shoe laces and managed to keep his voice calm. "Fine! Since you are already almost here I guess I don't have much choice in the matter" he said coldly picking up his jacket from the floor and hung up.

"What was that all about?" Rangiku asked taking a sip of water from her glass.

"Seems like the tigers are coming today", Ichigo answered zipping up his jacket and checking he had everything he needed.

"WHAT?" she yelled surprised and almost dropped her glass.

"Yeah. They chanced the plans at the last moment and told me about it only with an e-mail and because I was painting my house the whole day I didn't have a chance to check my mail. And then Renji came so…" he said with a wave of his hand. "But hey I really need to hurry. He's going to be here soon and my place is a mess".

After saying goodbye to everyone Ichigo ran out and dialed the number of the taxi company. He didn't have enough time to wait for a bus and he would need to walk from the stop so he wouldn't probably even make it there on time.

When he told the taxi driver that he was in a hurry and that the guy would get extra money if he drove as fast as he could he arrived at his house in record time.

"Here we are", the driver said lifting his drivers cap up so that he could see Ichigo at the seat next to him. What surprised Ichigo the most after a speeding like that was that the man's long wavy brown hair wasn't even the slightest bit messy even though his window was open. That wasn't the case with the orange head and he tried to comb his hair with his hand without much success.

"Here's the money and thanks. With your help I might have made it in time", he said handing the man the right amount.

"No problem kid. My Nanao-chan here is the fastest girl you see in this town", the man said tapping his car. Ichigo only raised his eyebrow slightly at the name of the car and got out.

"Thanks again. Bye!" he said slamming the door shut and waving as the man sped down the hill. Still a bit shaken from the ride Ichigo walked with weak legs towards his house. He might be able to at least clean his bedroom from the clothes Renji had thrown there before the man would bring his new 'pets'.

He managed to get the room ready just in time when he heard a car honk in his front yard. He rushed at the door and pressed the button in a small closet which opened his front gate. Good security was necessary in this kind of job considering that the tigers hardly ever listened to him when it came to the boundaries and stuff.

When Ichigo went out of the door he saw a large truck curving in and stopping near his front door. When the driver jumped out of the car for some reason Ichigo thought about foxes. The man's silver hair shone in the sunlight and he let out a small chuckle as he came to greet the orange head.

"Hullo there! Sorry 'bout the short notice", he said when he was within hearing distance.

"No problem. I was nearly ready anyway", Ichigo answered almost truthfully. There was nothing he could say now since the animals were here already.

"Good. Let's get the kittens in then, shall we", he said walking next to his car and starting to open the container. Ichigo went to get stretcher at his house so that they could get the sleeping cats inside.

"Oh and one more thing", the man noted when the orange head came back. "There is actually one more in here", he said going inside the container before Ichigo could say anything.

"What do you mean by that? Hey!" he called going after the man. They had said to him that he was supposed to get two tiger kittens. They couldn't possibly have sent him more than that could they?

Once inside he saw that the man had already opened the boxes where the tigers were and indeed there were three of them. It was too dark to inspect them there so they just lifted one of the tigers and took them in one by one.

"I still don't understand this. Why are they suddenly changing the day and even give me an extra tiger?" Ichigo asked when they carried the first cat inside.

"I wonder. No one tells me anything anyway so can't fill ya in 'bout that", the man answered waiting for Ichigo to open a glass door which led to the room where the tigers would be placed until they woke up. "Oh and before we leave her anywhere I guess I need ta tell ya something first. The one who ya weren't supposed ta have is pretty bad tempered. It would probably be the best ta put him in a different room".

Ichigo turned to look at the man frustrated. "Why would they give me a tiger with issues? They know what happened last time. I don't want to end up in a hospital again", he said angrily. He hated how his bosses treated him sometimes. Sure he was their favorite but that also meant that he got the ones with some mental problems. Those guys trusted him way too much.

"Ya know how those guys get. All high and mighty and like to dump their problems to someone else. I heard that they found the tiger yesterday", the silver haired man answered lowering the stretcher down and lifting the tiger at the other end while Ichigo lifted from the head.

"Ugh. Heavy... Yeah, I suppose you're right. But what kind of problems does he have? Do I need to place them in different rooms, or what?" the orange head asked wiping sweat away from his forehead.

"I'm not sure. But they told me that it would be better to separate them at first", he replied going after Ichigo to get the next tiger.

"But I only have one room with glass wall and door... There's no helping it. I guess I need to put the other two in the living room. They're calm one's right? At least that's what they told me", the orange head said climbing in the container.

"Yup. That's what they told me too", the man said lifting the next tiger with the stretcher.

"Is the last one the problematic one?" Ichigo asked trying not to drop the tiger.

"Yeah. We need to take this into the living room, correct?" the silver hair questioned.

"Yeah. This way. Let's get the other one here too", the orange head said and soon they had carried both into the living room and went to get the third one. Carrying the tigers had taken much more time than Ichigo had thought so now it was already pretty late.

When they finally had carried the last tiger in the glass room the driver stretched his back sighing contently when it let out a loud popping sound. "Finally over", he said looking at the time from his phone.

"Well, I better get going. See ya around Ichi-chan", he said standing up from the floor and dusting off his pants. Scowling at the nickname Ichigo saw the man to the door.

"See ya, Gin", he said closing the door behind the man.

Letting out a tired sigh Ichigo decided to take a closer look at the tigers. He tiptoed towards the living room trying not to wake them up. They had placed two of the tigers on the fluffy carpet but they had placed them so that there had been some space between them. Now however the kittens were now cuddling right next to each other. Ichigo stopped right on his tracks and tried to see if they showed any sign of movement which would indicate that they were awake. After waiting a while he dared to move again and step up closer to look at them.

Gin had said that they were siblings but Ichigo couldn't see any resemblance between them. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the other was white and the other golden orange. The white one seemed to be in a good condition which meant that he wasn't born due inbreeding which was a relief. Otherwise he could have all kind of physical defects. Also the fact that he didn't have visible stripes at all indicated to that his parents had both most likely been golden tigers and his sister had gotten her parents color. The female was truly beautiful. Her fur was almost strawberry blond which reminded him of someone though. The fur was really thick which made her look bigger than her big brother even though she was much smaller than him.

They were sleeping happily next to each other so they probably were really close which was a relief since Ichigo didn't want to deal with three annoyed tigers. They most likely had always been sleeping next to each other so they had unconsciously crawled next towards their sibling.

They wouldn't wake up for a while at the looks of it. Ichigo stayed and admired them a while before deciding to go and check the other one. He had seemed to be a bit different than the other two. His fur being long and thick and if Ichigo's eyes hadn't deceived him he thought that he had seen a hint of a bluish color in him.

"I guess I'll go and check him too", Ichigo thought and headed towards the glass room.

* * *

**So what did you think? I'd like to know your opinion about the story^^**


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